Maryland abolishes death penalty.

[kandrathe]

I'd opt for something that serves as more of a deterrent than 3 square meals per day, workout room and all day cable tv. Some crimes are so heinous that we'd be crazy to ever risk allowing the offender back into our society. Yet, we routinely do, and we see high amounts of recidivism -- mostly because we have nearly zero investment in their rehabilitation. Even so, I think there are people who are too crazy or too socially malevolent to ever be set free. What to do, what to do?

Why do people commit serious crimes? Some are extremely mentally ill. I would actually posit that most rapists, pederasts, murderers, etc. are in some way insane. Can we repair them, and is it worth it? Whether it be nurture or nature, some people rationally choose to commit crimes and should be punished for their actions. Take OJ. Even though he was acquitted of murder (probably a jealous rage), he ended up where he inevitably belonged after continued sociopathic behaviors. Most upstanding citizens don't end up in legal troubles every couple years.

In principle, I'm against any government having the power to kill people, since it has been misused in the past, and it will be misused in the future. When the crime is extremely terrible, and the guilt is incontrovertible, then it may be the most expedient way to eliminate the danger to our society. But, we've made our system very expensive since we convict too many wrong people by mistake. Shoju said, "Maybe, after a decade plus of time spent working to rehabilitate our justice system, and our mental health system, we can look at changing things." But, it is because it is so borked that we need to NOT kill people. We are undoubtably killing some people who are innocent of the crimes for which they've been convicted.

What we need is something humane, that requires daily labor, and discipline (in the best sense of that word). We may never let them back into society, but we can help them to make their lives during incarceration worthwhile. That might be the best type of rehabilitation; to give them vocational skills, and a sense of pride in what they are doing. Whatever they earn can be used to pay for their upkeep, and to compensate the victims for loss. But, we've all seen "The Shawshank Redemption", so yes, without proper oversights, checks and balances, any system of power can be corrupted.